Measuring patient expectations: Does the measurement instrument affect the number of expectations elicited and patient satisfaction

Peck B, Asch DA, Goold SD, Rotor D, Ubel P, Tulsky J. Measuring patient expectations: Does the measurement instrument affect the number of expectations elicited and patient satisfaction. Paper presented at: VA HSR&D National Meeting; 1999 Feb 1; Washington, DC.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• MPC 97-011 – Negotiating Patient Expectations and Requests in a Managed Care Environment

Objectives: Fulfillment of patient expectations can be used an an indicator of quality of care, and may influence health care utilization and costs. Previous research has shown that the number of expectations fulfilled is positively associated with medical visit satisfaction. However, research also suggests that how expectations are measured may create expectations for care. We conducted this study to examine the relationship between the type of instrument used to measure patients' expectations, the method of eliciting expectations, and patient satisfaction. In particular, we sought to determine whether instruments that elicit different numbers of expectations create bias by yielding different patient satisfaction